Differentiation

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formation of Earth’s crust

Once hot, Earth’s interior could begin its chemical evolution. For example, outgassing of a fraction of volatile substances that had been trapped in small amounts within the accreting planet probably formed the earliest atmosphere. Outgassing of water to Earth’s surface began before 4.3 billion…

…is referred to as the differentiation of the Earth. The earliest thin crust was probably unstable and so foundered and collapsed to depth. This in turn generated more gravitational energy, which enabled a thicker, more stable, longer-lasting crust to form. Once Earth’s interior (or its mantle) was hot and liquid,…

…formed as a result of differentiation of the MORB magma that fed the volcanic activity along the rift. (Differentiation is the process in which more than one rock type is derived from a single parent magma.) These coarse-grained intrusives account for about 4 to 5 kilometres of layer 3, which…